In the morning I think about what I am going to eat (b-fast and lunch usually). I enter the food into my journal (Fat Secret) and look over the totals. Depending on what I'm thinking of for dinner, I'll remove/add things to see how the totals look. Then I decide what I'm going to eat based upon the various totals. Tell me, am I crazy?

OK, you don't have to tell me, LOL. I know it's crazy. I just want to know if anyone else adds their food first then decides if they are really going to eat it--not based upon hunger, but upon the totals of cals/fat/carbs?

Yes, I do. I think it's normal (or hope hehe) when counting calories. Planning is a good thing

I do WW but I do the same thing. Plug in breakfast and lunch since I know those in the beginning of the day, then do a tentative dinner menu based on points and adjust as needed based on what I feel like at the end of the day.

It helps to have some idea of what I'll be eating so i don't come home and start munching.

That's pretty much exactly what I do, and have been doing for the last year or so. Nothing crazy about planning!

I do that, too... I tweak it until I find the menu that will best suit my plan and specific nutritional needs for that day. If I'm planning on doing weight training, for instance, I'll add and remove things until I find the right ratio of protein, so on and so forth. As long as it doesn't become obsessive, I don't see how it's crazy or anything

I do this every night before I go to bed so that I know what I'm having for breakfast and lunch, then will allot more or less for dinner depending on my workout. I think its been successful keep it up!

I almost always plug my all meals and snacks in the night before though sometimes it's the day of. About the only time I don't plug in a specific meal (I'll still plug in everything else) is when I'm going out to eat. But even then, I typically have a very good idea of what I'm going to have and if it's a restaurant that publishes nutritional info, know whether it will fit or not. Don't think you're crazy at all or that would mean I am too!

Lol, if we knew how to eat--or rather stop eating based on our true hunger a lot of us wouldn't be here . What you are doing is planning and preparing to avoid making a bad choice in the moment. I need to do a little better with that myself. Wtg for you!

I don't think your crazy. You are trying to plan. This is an area where we all could use some improvement. I just left the store with $43.00 worth of fruits and veggies, I'm a vegetarian. The reason why I had so much is not I am a poor planner and if I have the good food around I will eat it and if not than there is always chocolate. Something I don't need to make a meal out of. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for all the replies! I sometimes feel like I'm "the only one" because nobody at work "gets" my so-called obsession with counting calories/fat/carbs. The other day I pulled out my phone and told my co-workers how much fat I'd had the day before ('cause I thought it was honkin' high that day) and my best bud said something along the lines of "I don't think most people have a calorie counter on their phone." LOL He wasn't judging. They just don't understand.

My hubby is totally clueless to this process. He needs to lose about 150 pounds but won't budge on eating what he wants, when he wants.

At least I'm not alone.

Nope you are not alone I try to figure out how I can eat as much of what I'm feeling like as possible for the calories I have (unless i'm feeling impartial about what I eat).
For example last night I was really feeling like a lot of rice, which I haven't eaten in months, I was calculating how much veg and protein I could have along with it since it takes up like 75% of my meal calories.
I always have a pen, paper and calculater on hand at meal times (kinda primal I know lol) when I first started I gave up within weeks because it just seemed like soooo much work, now it is like second nature.
Meal planning makes me feel in control

I totally get where you're coming from!

What I try to remember at those times where I feel like "the only one" is that most people also either:
a) Don't have to (consciously) watch their calories/fat/carbs in order to maintain a "normal" weight, or
b) Are overweight/unfit in some way, and their health could benefit from tracking their cals/fat/carbs.

In either case, I'm not like that. I have to consciously monitor my intake and plan for that, OR I'm going to be obese again. I'll take the planning.

Yup!! I do exactly the same thing. If you're crazy, I guess we're all crazy.

I used to be someone who thought people who counted calories were crazy and I felt sorry for them. Fast forward to me being one and I understand why they do it. I know when I bring it up people may feel the same about me that I used to but I so don't care. I see the benefits of my change and that far outweighs their opinions.

However, where I've had a bit of a challenge is in the dating arena. I don't really want to bring up right away that I used to be 100 pounds heavier (Can you say instant bolting??? ), but when the discussions of food, eating out, etc. come up, I have no ability not to somehow keep my calorie counting out of the conversation.

I'm sure my calorie counting annoys people but it's such an integral part of my life now that it's hard not to. As you said, they just don't understand much as I used not to.

You can count without sharing.

Sometimes--maybe at work, most likely on a first date--that's worth considering.